"Tonight, we will honor the greatest writers in America with a modest 9 by 12 certificate and a check for three thousand dollars...three thousand dollars? Stephen King makes more than that for writing boo on a cocktail napkin." - Jimmy Breslin

Sorry, wasn't paying attention to the "per year" total it was going to cost us. I was more concerned with the final cost, which totals in the trillions if I'm not mistaken.

You don't think $60 billion a year being added to our already hefty deficit is a bad thing?

Total cost over ten years is SUPPOSED to be around $500 billion to tax payers (due to what the health care industry is being forced to cover). I state $60 billion a year as the cost to tax payers to give a bit of room for increased costs. I think in theory it's only supposed to be $50 billion. As I've said before, for reference, NASA costs about $18 billion a year. In other words, NASA over the past thirty years has, in adjusted dollars, cost more than the health care reform. It's certainly possible this will cost more than estimated, but we'll see on that. And for another point of comparison, the Iraq/Aghani wars have been costing us more than $100 billion a year for the past 5 years.

And my point wasn't that more deficit isn't bad (it is, but if it provides the benefits I'm hoping it will, it'll be worth it), it's just I totally don't see how an increase of less than 2% (compared to the 2009 budget) to the budget is such a gigantically crushing blow to our country. As part of a generalized higher cost I can see the concern (the projected deficit Obama is going for in the fiscal 2010 year is enormous, the biggest percentage deficit since World War II), it's just everyone being so focused specifically on such a small chunk of it I don't get.

Now iff the health care industry is being forced to pay for some of this bills cost won't they just raise there rates and make things in general more costly to cover what they have to pay out to the government? Also while the wars have cost a lot of money they are not a going to be a permanent fixture of the U.S. economy, the healthcare bill will. So whats going to still cost more money in the long run then? Health care.I don't like this. I really despise the way the Democrats said F-U to the Constitution, made back room deals and perverted the Bill Making process for their own agendas. This is all proof that are government is falling apart and were heading for civil anarchy.

Three things are true of entitlement programs . . . ALL entitlement programs.

1. Once in place they are almost impossible to get rid of.2. The ALWAYS cost more than projected.3. Once in place, there is a constant demand to increase them. Any attempt to cut an entrenched entitlement, or even to reform it in a meaningful way, is political suicide.

Jim, I don't have the cost figures right in front of me and truthfully, a lot of all this healthcare junk is confusing to myself and the bulk of the population. (I'm sure I could get my hands on a copy, but I don't have the time to read through 1,000+ pages of bullsh*t.)

Maybe it doesn't seem like much at all in the long run, but again, this is a projected cost and it could end up costing the taxpayers much more. I figure once the whole healthcare overhaul is fleshed out, the gov will realize they need more cash and up the taxes, or take away from other programs.

Regardless of cost, this thing should have been brought to the American people before it was so quickly written into law. If anything, the current administration should have polled the public; really tested the waters before pulling out the stops and ushering in this bill.

I think Obama has really shot himself in the foot with this healthcare reform, and won't be around for a second term. And since he's going for broke, why not bring back Prohibition too?!

I really despise the way the Democrats said F-U to the Constitution, made back room deals and perverted the Bill Making process for their own agendas.

I do think it's worth mentioning that everything done was par for the course. They didn't really do anything unusual in terms of Washington politics. I also personally think the constitutional argument is weak, what with the way states rights have been judged to be in the supreme court.

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2. The ALWAYS cost more than projected.

How about Medicare part D?

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If anything, the current administration should have polled the public

I don't think that would do any good with any reforms. If there's anything I've learned from opinion polls, it's that opinion polls don't help make good policy.

Why this bill sucks...-When government puts a cap on something, it's called a price-ceiling, and these things tend to create shortages.- It's subsidized yet you are forced to buy it, subsidized with your money. So you're paying for it twice.- There's no incentive for poor people to not use the emergency room option, pay a fine of about $300 a year or pay about $200 monthly, your choice- This isn't, and doesn't resemble Nationalized Healthcare that liberal college professors talked about, nor is it going to!- There's the incentive for medical complex to be wasteful in spending, as it's tax payer money that they're subsidized with.

In short healthcare is even worse, not what anyone even wants, be it privatized or nationalized.